News
Tesla Holiday Update: New UI for Model 3 and Y, Light Show, blind spot camera improvements & more
Just a few days before Christmas, Tesla is kicking off the holidays with a bang. This year’s Holiday Update includes a few fun surprises for Tesla owners, including new games and a few other fun features.
Teslascope, a Tesla software update tracker service, has shared that the 2021.44.25 update is being rolled out to employees for now, with a wide release following in the lead up to Christmas. Reports shared online suggest that the update works very smoothly on vehicles like the Model 3 and Model Y, however.
New Features
First off is the Light Show, which enables Tesla vehicles to dance to a choreographed light show any time of the year. The feature was a signature trick of the Model X, so it is pretty interesting that Tesla is now rolling it out to the other vehicles in its lineup. The Light Show feature can be accessed through the Toybox.
In its Holiday Update, Tesla also introduced the Customizable App Launcher, allowing owners to customize the menu bar in their infotainment systems. This should go perfectly hand-in-hand with the Model 3 and Model Y’s update UI, which now matches the interface of the Model S Plaid and new Model X that were rolled out this year.
“Drag and drop your favorite apps to any position along the bottom menu bar for easy access. To customize your menu bar, hold any icon and then drag to reorder. To adjust climate controls such as heated seats and defrost, tap on the temperature or swipe up from the bottom of the screen,” the update’s Release Notes read.
Feature Improvements
As with any update, Tesla improved a few key features, including vehicle controls, blind spot monitoring, and Waypoints.
Simplified Controls makes it easier for Tesla owners to focus on navigation, media, and the most common primary controls. The improvement should make accessing features in the infotainment system easier, so driving or operating a Tesla may be more convenient and perhaps even safer.
-
The Blind Spot Camera feature is probably one of the best improvements in the Tesla Holiday update, as it provides vehicles with a video feed showing their blind spot when a turn signal is activated. “You can now automatically see a live camera view of your blind spot whenever you activate the turn signal,” the Release Notes for the feature read.
The Blind Spot Camera feature will most likely improve the safety of Tesla’s vehicles. Tap Controls>Autopilot>Automatic Blind Spot Camera to enable the feature.
Tesla also made trips easier with Edit Waypoints. The navigation improvements will probably be quite useful to families taking trips this holiday. The feature allows drivers to reorder or add multiple destinations to their route. Edit Waypoints will update the arrival times for each change on the route. “To add a stop, or edit a trip, initiate a navigation route, and tap the more options button not he turn list,” wrote Tesla on the Edit Waypoints Release Notes.
New Arcade Improvements
Being a Holiday Update, 2021.44.25 is rife with a number of improvements for Tesla Theater and Tesla Arcade. Access to a popular social media platform has also been enabled.
First up is Sonic the Hedgehog, which Elon Musk himself announced on Twitter recently. Multiplayer support for The Battle for Polytopia has also been enabled, which should make in-car gaming sessions even more fun.
Sudoku has also been added to the Tesla Arcade, complete with a mode that includes a smart hint system for beginners. Also, the popular social media app TikTok is now accessible to Teslas.
Other Improvements
Update 2021.44.25 is not all fun and games. Tesla included some Cold Weather Improvements to its Holiday Update, too. Preconditioning the cabin from the Tesla Mobile App when the battery is at a lower state of charge is now enabled. First row seat heaters can now automatically regulate seat temperatures based on the cabin’s environment and control set temperature.
-
Managing dashcam clips is also easier, as videos can now be deleted directly from the infotainment system. Themes for the infotainment system have been rolled out, too. For instance, Dark Mode is now available for Tesla displays. Dark Mode may be a simple update, but it could make vehicles safer, as a darker display reduced the chance of screen glare for the driver.
The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, reach out to me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.
Tesla is nearing its long-awaited unveiling of the all-electric Tesla Roadster, a new report from The Information claims, as the company has said several times this year that the event would take place “soon.”
Now, it appears there is movement on Tesla’s end regarding when it will happen.
The report says that Tesla will unveil the Roadster as soon as this month with a SpaceX version that will utilize cold-gas thrusters to help the vehicle float for a short period of time. This is something CEO Elon Musk has talked about with the Roadster for years.
🚨 The Information is reporting this morning that Tesla is ready to unveil the “flying” Roadster as soon as this month
It’s almost here, folks. pic.twitter.com/IdL4atsucQ
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 14, 2026
Additionally, due to the delays, Tesla explored “a variety of designs” for the Roadster, potentially planning to abandon the design it showed off for the first time in 2017 and adopting an entirely new aesthetic.
According to The Information, Tesla considered utilizing a repurposed Model S Plaid and even wanted to upgrade the look to something like a Lamborghini Countach.
We’ve heard all of these things before, including teases about the date and how “soon” the Roadster will finally be ready to be shown off to the world (for the second time). Musk said that the event would occur in April, then May, then Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen continued to say it would be coming “soon.”
We do expect to see the Roadster by the end of the year, and now with this new report swirling, it appears it could be sooner rather than later.
The wait has been incredibly long, but there is likely a good reason for it. Tesla’s desire to make the Roadster the craziest vehicle on the road was non-negotiable, and it likely took a lot of time and resources to develop and perfect into something that was safe and suitable for a vehicle like this.
Featured
Tesla finally got its Nevada Robotaxi Permit but with a few catches hard to miss
Nevada granted Tesla’s robotaxi permit, but capped the fleet at just ten vehicles for now.
Tesla has received its robotaxi permit in Nevada, more than two months after regulators closed the public comment period on the company’s application. News of the approval surfaced Wednesday night when Tesla investor and longtime company watcher Sawyer Merritt posted a copy of the interim order, and the Nevada Transportation Authority’s own carrier registry now lists the permit, AVNC Permit 002 under Docket 26-05015, as active for Tesla Robotaxi, LLC.
Tesla asked Nevada in June for authority to run up to 5,000 vehicles in Clark County within a year, however the permit the NTA issued is initially capping Tesla at ten fully autonomous vehicles and confines them to a defined geofence along the Las Vegas Strip corridor. Any expansion of that operating area, or any increase to the fleet size, requires the NTA’s approval first.
Tesla has received its Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permit in Nevada.
The Nevada Transportation Authority says that operations are limited to a maximum fleet of 10 fully autonomous vehicles and shall be conducted only within the Authority-approved Operational Design… https://t.co/Cxfd6GIfDk pic.twitter.com/iOO6wSZkHF
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 13, 2026
The order also sets rules that look more restrictive than what Tesla runs in Austin. Rides are barred on roads with posted speed limits above 45 miles per hour, pickups are off limits within a quarter mile of Harry Reid International Airport without separate authorization, and every vehicle has to carry visible “Robotaxi” markings while notifying riders before each trip that no one is driving. The order also requires “appropriate human supervision”, language that suggests Nevada isn’t ready to let Tesla offer the rides without a safety monitor that it has run in parts of Austin since January. As with standard protocol with robotaxi services, Tesla must report any accident, system failure, or vehicle that becomes stranded on a Nevada road within five business days.
Tesla is entering a market Nevada already knows well. Zoox, the Amazon owned robotaxi company, has run its own autonomous vehicle permit in the state since last year, building up to roughly 100 vehicles and 350,000 rides along the Strip. That history likely explains why the NTA started Tesla at ten cars rather than the fleet size the company asked for. The agency has a template for scaling a permit up once a company proves out its safety record.
Tesla’s Nevada application first surfaced in June, when the company filed for the permit alongside plans for a maintenance hub in southwest Las Vegas. The company has said it won’t meaningfully scale its robotaxi fleet anywhere until FSD v15 ships, expected in late 2026 or early 2027, which makes the ten vehicle cap less of a constraint today than it might look on paper. For now, Tesla has the legal right to start Nevada rides. Whether it starts before FSD v15 arrives is a separate question the permit doesn’t answer.
Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.
Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.
Powerwall Lease is now available with Tesla Electric in Texas
Whole-home backup for $35/month, with a low fixed electricity rate
– Two Powerwalls, $0 installation
– Storm Watch outage protection
– One app to manage it all pic.twitter.com/oTzqc6K3aF— Tesla Energy (@teslaenergy) August 13, 2026
This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.
Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.
The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.
Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants
Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.
Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.
The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.
Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.
Tesla Roadster unveiling nears, and it will fly: The Information
Tesla finally got its Nevada Robotaxi Permit but with a few catches hard to miss
